Posted 09 October 2011 - 04:40 AM

Update 12/3/12 Happy December, y'all! Double update here: first off I will not respond to PMs any longer concerning this topic! If you need help with this topic, post in the thread! Second: I really, really could use some help with this Magic ModCD. I'm very sorry that I haven't worked on it sooner, but real life gets in the way. Please PM me if you can help with this!! For criteria on what you need, read here.

Update 6/29/12: I thought I might give you a report on the Magic ModCD; so far I haven't had too much time to tinker, but now I've found some serious bugs, so I'm going to have to bring down the Magic ModCD for a bit. Expect it back sometime in July sometime in the future! (July's long gone...)

Update 5/25/12:That's right, Lion is now supported. I have edited the awesome OSx86 ModCD with newer drivers (and more of them) specifically for Lion. I call it the Magic ModCD. Remember that AMD/older Intel CPU support is still buggy, and 64-bit is still an issue on SSSE3-less CPUs. Also, this is a beta, so please report any bugs to me via PM. By bugs I do not mean that certain drivers didn't work for you, but actual development bugs such as the installation failing because of a shell script's syntax. With your bug report attach a copy of the Installation Log; you can go to the Window menu in the installer, select Installer Log, and click Save, where you can save it to a flash drive you can connect to your computer. Essentially unimportant, read updates 6/29/12 and 12/3/12.

Update 4/17/12: If you are taking the poll, I would like to clarify the second question: the first answer (Yes) means that 1) you booted to the installer and successfully ran through partitioning and installation and 2) you are able to boot right away. It doesn't matter if all of your hardware doesn't work out of the box; if your situation meets the above 2 criteria, please choose the answer Yes.

Update 1/21/12: I want to assure others right away that though this thread is older, I am still offering support for this topic and I still will respond to PMs (updated 12/3/12). Until I post another update saying I will no longer be supporting this topic, you can post here and PM me (ditto) with impunity.

I know my title sounds amazing, but it's true! I personally am tired of seeing all these install guides for specific mobos/computers that apparently have trouble on others, so I'd like to show you what I did on a couple generic PCs. Get ready for fun!

Note first off that this method does not guarantee that all features, such as wireless and graphics, will work perfectly right away. You may have to tinker a little; I'll tell you what I did for my computers at the end. It also requires that you have a retail Snow Leopard disc. If you have a system restore disc (in other words, a gray disc), then you will need to patch that first. PM me and I'll tell you how. Either version of the ModCD only will patch DVDs!!! If you are using an external hard drive or a flash drive to install Snow Leopard, you will need the OSx86 ModCD's sister, the ModUSB. PM me and I'll give you methods. The only other catch is that this will only work with 10.6.7 and below if you do not have an Intel Core or Intel Xeon CPU; if you have 10.6.8 and do not have one of those Intels, again, you will need to patch your DVD. You can check the version on the left side of the disc. Make sure your data is backed up!!!! This guide requires that you wipe your hard drive. If you cannot afford to do that, PM me, and I'll show you a way to partition your hard drive. Normally the installation breaks Windows, but you can recover important data and reinstall. If you don't want to do that, post #8has a different preparation method. You might also want a Windows install disc or a Linux Live CD to access the Internet if Mac OS is having trouble.

Step 1: You will need to find out the PNP ID for your features you want to work, such as Ethernet, Wireless, Graphics, etc. This is one of the most important steps!!! Do NOT skip this step, or you will go through many pains trying to figure your IDs out when things don't work out-of-the-box.

From Windows, download Unknown Devices (linked below; download version 1.2 for XP, and the beta for Vista/7) and open it. Then look for things such as VGA-Compatible Controller, Ethernet Controller, etc. as shown in the linked screen shot. Click the plus box for the controller and for PNP ID and write down the four numbers/letters after VEN_ and DEV_. If Unknown Devices doesn't work, use the Device Manager in Windows; you simply double-click the hardware, choose the Details tab, and either choose Device Instance IDs (XP) or Hardware IDs (Vista/7).

From Linux, open the Terminal and type lspci -nn > pciids.txt. This will save a document called pciids.txt in your home folder where you can easily access it.

Step 2: For Snow Leopard, download the OSX86 ModCD, also known as Nawcom ModCD, from the link below. For Lion, download the Magic ModCD (my version of the OSx86 ModCD for Lion), also linked below. Once the image downloads, burn the image onto the disc using your favorite program. If you don't have one, look up the free InfraRecorder. DO NOT DRAG THE IMAGE ONTO A CD AND BURN IT!!! You have to burn the contents of the image, not the image file itself. InfraRecorder has a button to do just that.

Step 3: Boot up your computer from the ModCD you just burned in one of the following ways: by setting the BIOS to boot from your CD drive first, or to boot from the CD drive temporarily from a boot menu. You can access your BIOS usually by pressing delete (not backspace) or one of the function keys; computers usually show which keys enter setup and show a boot menu.

Step 4: Once you have booted from the CD, you will see a strange looking boot menu. Eject the ModCD and insert your Snow Leopard DVD. Once your DVD drive revs up, press F5. You should see Mac OS X Install DVD selected. Now, if you have an Intel Core model (Core i3, i5, i7, Core 2 Duo, Core Solo, etc.) or Intel Xeon CPU, type "mach_kernel" without the quotes and press enter, with the following exception. If your DVD is earlier that 10.6.4 and you have a Sandy Bridge computer (Core i3, i5, i7, and some late-model Xeons), just press enter without typing anything, as you cannot boot Apple's kernel before 10.6.4. For all other processors, including Intel Pentiums, Celerons, and all AMD CPUs, just press enter without typing anything. If all goes well, you should see white text flowing down the screen. If you see something like panic or system uptime in nanoseconds, you have a problem; take a picture and post it. If you see a blank screen or it restarts randomly, boot again and just press enter regardless of your processor.

Step 5: You should see the language selector menu. Yahoo! You're half-way there! Select you language and click the arrow. When the Installer loads, select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu at the top. Once there, you will see your hard drive. Select your hard drive; it is the disk icon at the very top. It should have something like a brand name and model number. Just look at the screenshot if you are having trouble. Once you have selected your hard drive, choose the Partition tab on the right. In the Partition tab, choose the number of partitions from the pop-up menu; if you are planning on only having Mac OS X, choose one. If you are planning on dual-booting with Windows, choose two. If you have multiple partitions, select them and enter the size you want. For the partition you want to install Windows on, choose MS-DOS (FAT) from the format pop-up menu and type a name so you will recognize it in the Windows installer. Once done, click the options button under the partitions. Choose GUID Partition Table unless you will be installing Windows XP. If you will be using Windows XP, you MUST choose Master Boot Record. Once you are very sure your settings are right, press Apply.

Step 6: The hard part is all over. Quit Disk Utility. In the Installer, continue to the disk selector menu. Select your new Mac partition. Before you press Install, click Customize. From the options, choose Quicktime 7 if you will be working with older video formats, and choose Rosetta if you will be working with PowerPC applications (a.k.a. any Mac application made before 2006). Next, hit the CUSTOM OPTIONS disclosure triangle. At the bottom, choose SleepEnabler if you do not have a Intel Core or Intel Xeon CPU model. Also, you may want to choose the Elliot RTC; it will prevent some computers' BIOS from being reset. If you do not select this and your BIOS gets reset, do not fear. PM me and I'll show you how to install the Elliot RTC package. Once you have selected all the options you want, click OK and click Install. Grab a quick cup of coffee and wait. You should just wiggle your mouse every ten minutes or so to prevent your computer from sleeping.

Step 7: Set up your computer. In Mac OS. For real. Is that amazing or what?!?

(A note about Step 7: I've noticed that a lot of people use the ModCD like i Boot and use the ModCD to boot the successful installation. It doesn't work that way; the ModCD automatically patches the installation DVD with drivers and boot loader so you can just boot from the HDD right away, like in a distro.)

Now for Windows dual-boot. If you will not be using Windows, scroll to the bottom and I'll show you what I did to make some of my hardware work.

Step 1: Boot your computer from your Windows install disc the same way you did the ModCD. It will ask you to press any key. Press any key. Once the Windows installer loads (you may want to grab another drink; it takes forever ), you will configure your Windows installer; use the appropriate method below.

Step 2a: For XP, follow the instructions to the screen that you select a partition to install. Locate the Windows partition you created and press enter.

Once Windows has finished, you will not be able to boot to Mac OS. This is easy to fix; there are two good ways of doing it, one for using the Windows Boot Manager (slightly easier) and one for using Chameleon (the OS X bootloader, slightly harder).

Step 3a: If you want to use the Windows boot manager, boot into Windows, download EasyBCD (linked below), and install it. Open it and click Add New Entry. Select Mac OS and name it. Next, select MBR from the pop up menu instead of EFI (Default). Be sure it is MBR or it will not work. Click Add. You may also want to select Edit Boot Menu to change the default selection (I chose Mac OS X) and the time to boot (I chose 5 seconds).

and then you're done! Now, download this version of Chameleon and run the package. Now go to the ExtraBackups folder at the root of your drive, go inside Extra, and drag the Extensions folder and Extensions.mkext to your new Extra folder at the root of your drive.

With either method, you should be able to boot to Mac and Windows freely. Now I will show you how I got specific features working on my hardware just in case somebody has mine.

Motherboards and sleep:Build 1: ECS P4M800PRO-M had a Pentium D 805 processor (at first, then a Pentium 4 630): I could not get it to go to sleep, even with the SleepEnabler. It always turned into a coma. Display sleep worked though…Build 2: Dell Dimension 9100 with a Pentium 4 (later the Pentium D): sleep worked using the SleepEnabler! It just took a little longer to wake up than in Windows.Build 3: Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P with Core 2 Quad Q6600: sleep works in Snow Leopard and Lion using their respective SleepEnablers.

Ethernet:Build 1: VIA Rhine II was automatically detected and patched.Build 2: Intel 10/100 port with the PNP ID 27dc 8086 (vendor first, then device ID) that wasn’t supported in the Wired LAN package. If you look in the ModCD, go into Extra and open Preboot.dmg, go into Preboot and open postBoot.img in Extra, you will find a folder of all the packages the ModCD offers. From here I took the wired.pkg and opened it in Pacifist, browsed (in Pacifist) to /Extra/IONetworkingFamily.kext/Contents/tmpPlugIns, selected Intel8255x.kext and extracted it to my desktop. Then I patched the next (for info on patching, look in the FAQ), placed it in /Extra/Extensions, and Ethernet was fixed.Build 3: Both Gigabit Ethernet ports were patched by the installer.

Sound:Build 1: I had a VIA AC ’97 codec, but when I installed OS X, it was not detected because it was an older version of the driver, probably because I used an older version of ModCD than what I linked to you guys. I later looked up on these forums and found an updated kext that got me mono audio and then the most recent AC ’97 driver that gave me stereo audio.Build 2: I got sound right away with VoodooHDA, and I finally figured out how to get all outputs working! Look at the thread "VoodooHDA - common problems"; that should help out a lot. If you need help ciphering, give me a holler and I'll help.

Graphics: I have tried six different graphics cards and had success with threeof them. Here’s what they are.

ATi Radeon X600: The card’s drivers are from Tiger/Leopard. Importing the drivers did not work. The card was detected but 3D acceleration was not enabled.

ATi Radeon X1300: Worked right away with a fresh install. This was the AGP card.

ATi Radeon X1300 Pro: Did not work. It did not have the right ID, but the card diedbefore I could try to patch it. This was a PCI-E card.

ATi FireGL V3100: Same story as the Radeon X600.

nVidia Quadro FX 1700: The card works differently on your mobo; on my particular build (the Dell Dimension 9100), the card was detected and the intro video played, but playback was poor and I could not change resolutions. I fixed this by following this guide: nVidia EFI string Although the EFI string works, I prefer a DSDT patch; on some mobos, in the device PCI0 there is a name that's called Name (_ADR) 0x00, and the _ADR needs to be _UID. If there is a _UID name under the _ADR, delete the _ADR string and change the hex number of the _UID to 0x00. With mobos that do not have the DSDT problem, the card will work OOB.

nVidia GeForce 9600 GT: Works on my Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P with the DSDT patch above. For others it will work OOB.

nVidia GeForce GTS 250: Same as the 9600 GT.

nVIDIA GeForce GTX 460: OOB like the above two.

Anyway, I hope this helps all of you who are having trouble or who are trying this for the first time.

Posted 09 October 2011 - 11:54 AM

Srini2000

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46 posts

I am trying to run now Leopard 10.6.3 on an HP Mini 110 which I just bought for this purpose.

I have prepared the OSX mod CD and am using it together with a brand new Snow leopard 10.6.3 disk that I just bought. The machine boots up with the mod CD and then tries to run the Snow Leopard and hangs. This is the display on it.

It seems to have trouble with
kext es.osx86.driver.Ev0 reboot
kext com.meklort.post boot mounter
kext com.apple.kpi.mach not found

Posted 10 October 2011 - 05:21 PM

What processor do you have? In other words, did you type mach_kernel or just press enter? If you used the mach_kernel, try pressing enter without typing anything and see what happens.

What's funny is that my DVD is 10.6.3 as well, and I have had no problems. I would think the kernel would be the problem. If you could post a few more details about your system, that would be great.

You might also want to try an older version of ModCD located here: Naucom ModCD-10.6 to 10.6.4 ONLYYou could also try a different boot loader if you have the right specs. Are you absolutely positive that you have the 10.6.3 DVD? From your panic it almost looks like you either have a Leopard DVD or possibly a 10.6.8 DVD. Could you post a pic?

Posted 11 October 2011 - 10:03 AM

TRu7H

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10 posts

"This will only work with 10.6.7 and below; if you have 10.6.8, again, you will need to patch your DVD. You can check the version on the left side of the disc"

I'm going to try this tomorrow... I'm taking it that you simply mean it only works with the 10.6.7 and below install cd not that once installed I cant update to 10.6.8 and then on to Lion if I wish correct?

Posted 11 October 2011 - 06:47 PM

I'm old school and just catching up to all these new and improved methods of installing OSX86. Leopard "distro's" were much more popular.

Going to try this tonight on my AMD system and see how it goes.

I'm going to do a bit of Googling but if I understand correctly the ModCD will automatically alter the retail installer to offer some custom options? Are these customizable with your kexts / kernels / etc? I would love to be able to customize an installation method tailored for my own setup - not only for reinstalls but for the future when Lion stabilizes it's way to AMD.

Posted 12 October 2011 - 12:25 AM

I'm taking it that you simply mean it only works with the 10.6.7 and below install cd not that once installed I cant update to 10.6.8 and then on to Lion if I wish correct?

You are absolutely correct. You can update to 10.6.8 and on to Lion, just not use the 10.6.8 DVD. The reason is that 10.6.8 uses a totally different kernel then 10.6.5 (through 10.6.7), which was the current version at the time of the ModCD build I linked. Therefore, if you have a 10.6.8 DVD, you have to put a different kernel on your DVD.

Also, the 10.6.8 install disc limitation is only for people without Intel Core or Intel Xeon CPUs like me. Those of you with Intel Cores and Xeons are not limited by that. I'll edit my post...

For those of you getting these panics, make sure you are using a retail DVD. Also, if you used "mach_kernel", just press enter, or vice versa. If you get panics with both, try the modbin kernel; its instructions are on the bootloader.

Posted 12 October 2011 - 08:06 PM

Posted 12 October 2011 - 10:58 PM

underdroogles

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1 posts

Hey, thanks for the walkthrough. I've been pretty stumped by some of the other methods I've tried, so I was excited to see a new walkthrough where I don't have to know how to edit dtst and kexts and all that. However, I followed your directions and got the OSX86 Mod CD working, but when I switch it out andboot from my retail snow leopard DVD, I get an error about "probe hardware failed" and it won't load (IMG_3069_1_.JPG2.3MB259 downloads). I tried it with both "mach_kernel" and without it.

My computer runs windows 7 fine, so at least I know my build works. I installed windows 7 on a second hard drive, which I unplug before trying this (I don't know if that's important or not)

Posted 13 October 2011 - 04:44 AM

What processor do you have? In other words, did you type mach_kernel or just press enter? If you used the mach_kernel, try pressing enter without typing anything and see what happens.

What's funny is that my DVD is 10.6.3 as well, and I have had no problems. I would think the kernel would be the problem. If you could post a few more details about your system, that would be great.

You might also want to try an older version of ModCD located here: Naucom ModCD-10.6 to 10.6.4 ONLYYou could also try a different boot loader if you have the right specs. Are you absolutely positive that you have the 10.6.3 DVD? From your panic it almost looks like you either have a Leopard DVD or possibly a 10.6.8 DVD. Could you post a pic?

Thanks. I have been able to install the 10.6.3 using your Naucom ModCD- that you suggested. I have one problem. I still need the Naucom CD to boot. What do I do to get the machine to boot off its own Hard Drive? I am not able to specify a start up disk in the system preferences. I still have to resolve sound and wireless but I will resolve those after fixing the booting.

By the way, I have an Atom N455 at 1.66 GHz and the HP Mini is 110-3735 with a Bios of HP F.23 dated 04/28/2011

Posted 13 October 2011 - 07:41 PM

Thanks. I have been able to install the 10.6.3 using your Naucom ModCD- that you suggested. I have one problem. I still need the Naucom CD to boot. What do I do to get the machine to boot off its own Hard Drive? I am not able to specify a start up disk in the system preferences. I still have to resolve sound and wireless but I will resolve those after fixing the booting.

By the way, I have an Atom N455 at 1.66 GHz and the HP Mini is 110-3735 with a Bios of HP F.23 dated 04/28/2011

That's odd. Did you install off of a USB flash drive or an install DVD? The ModCD only patches the Installer when you are booted from an install DVD. However, I have compiled a disk image with the bootloader and all the drivers from the ModCD. I had to split it in half, though, because this forum supports a max single file size of 10 MB. Here's how to use my image.

Download Slices and both halves of my image and unzip them. Open Slices and click on the Combine tab. Drag both halves onto the little box. Click combine, choose where to save the file, and voila! Now open the image. The instructions are on there.

Posted 13 October 2011 - 09:42 PM

Hey, thanks for the walkthrough. I've been pretty stumped by some of the other methods I've tried, so I was excited to see a new walkthrough where I don't have to know how to edit dtst and kexts and all that. However, I followed your directions and got the OSX86 Mod CD working, but when I switch it out andboot from my retail snow leopard DVD, I get an error about "probe hardware failed" and it won't load (IMG_3069_1_.JPG2.3MB259 downloads). I tried it with both "mach_kernel" and without it.

My computer runs windows 7 fine, so at least I know my build works. I installed windows 7 on a second hard drive, which I unplug before trying this (I don't know if that's important or not)

The error you mention is an Ethernet alert. It's not the problem. Actually, it's a good sign; your ethernet will work! Also, your 1394 (FireWire) will work also. Do lower the RAM level to 4 GB or less; it's not the cause of your current problem, but it will probably panic.

Your chipset is not recognized. If you notice the statement at the end "Still waiting for root device", that means it can't find your DVD drive. How is your DVD drive connected (SATA or ATA)? What chipset do you use (JMicron, ATi nVidia)? You can try this: if your chipset is Intel, and you have your DVD drive connected by SATA, set your controller to AHCI in the BIOS. Just press delete (not backspace), F2, or whatever key it uses to enter BIOS. Also, just let the thing boot for about 20 minutes. Sometimes I get that root device message, but it goes away with a little time.

If your drive is ATA, make sure is set as Master and not Slave. If it is on Cable Select, set it to Master.

Please answer the questions above. It would really help.

In the Device Manager, find your DVD drive controller. Right-click it and choose properties. Select details, and choose from the pop-up menu something like hardware ID and note the VEN_ and DEV_ numbers. You may have to edit the ModCD to inject your particular ID's. If you don't quite understand this, PM me and I'll walk you through.

Posted 14 October 2011 - 01:48 AM

Posted 14 October 2011 - 02:50 PM

Srini2000

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46 posts

That's odd. Did you install off of a USB flash drive or an install DVD? The ModCD only patches the Installer when you are booted from an install DVD. However, I have compiled a disk image with the bootloader and all the drivers from the ModCD. I had to split it in half, though, because this forum supports a max single file size of 10 MB. Here's how to use my image.

Download Slices and both halves of my image and unzip them. Open Slices and click on the Combine tab. Drag both halves onto the little box. Click combine, choose where to save the file, and voila! Now open the image. The instructions are on there.

First off, thanks for the help that you are giving me. I am very far along. 1. I prepared a USB hard disk on a Mac using the install DVD. I got the instructions from one of the other posts. This was done using Netbook installer 0.8.22. I used your Naucom mod disk and then I was able to get Mac OS installed 3. At this point I had three problems - a. Was not able to boot without the Naucom CDb. Sound c. Wireless

Then I implemented your latest instructions by combining the files.The driver check detected three things - High Def audio, PS/2 mouse and Wired ethernet(!!!)I installed the high def audio package. Sound now works!!!!!!I installed the autodetected wireless LAN pkg. However there are two issues. First the wireless was not detected. Probably because I have a Realtek RTL 8188/9 chipI am still not able to boot. Under system preferences, I cannot specify a startup disc. It only shows Network with a question mark.

Posted 14 October 2011 - 03:24 PM

Sorry about the wireless. The wireless LAN package only installs a driver to use the built-in drivers, which is only for Broadcom and Atheros cards.

Just so you know, you will never be able to use the startup disk preference pane. This only works for Macs' EFI firmware, not (unfortunately) for us with BIOS.

I hate to break it to you, but it looks like you will have to repartition your hard drive. Whenever I have gotten that Chameleon error, it means the partition scheme is bad. Unfortunately, you will have to redo the partition scheme like I described in my first post and reinstall. Fortunately, though, you know how to get your main features working.

You might also want to try Master Boot Record instead of GUID Partition Table and see how it goes. The only downside is that you won't be able to resize your hard drive in Mac OS whenever you want.

Posted 15 October 2011 - 01:24 AM

Sorry about the wireless. The wireless LAN package only installs a driver to use the built-in drivers, which is only for Broadcom and Atheros cards.

Just so you know, you will never be able to use the startup disk preference pane. This only works for Macs' EFI firmware, not (unfortunately) for us with BIOS.

I hate to break it to you, but it looks like you will have to repartition your hard drive. Whenever I have gotten that Chameleon error, it means the partition scheme is bad. Unfortunately, you will have to redo the partition scheme like I described in my first post and reinstall. Fortunately, though, you know how to get your main features working.

You might also want to try Master Boot Record instead of GUID Partition Table and see how it goes. The only downside is that you won't be able to resize your hard drive in Mac OS whenever you want.

Keep going. This is hard, but it will work OK in the end.

The good news.... I got wireless working and am now on the Internet ! I bought a Zonet USB adapter (thought discretion is the better part of valor and I'd use an external device) . It is supposed to work with the Mac but they don't have drivers for snow leopard only for leopard and they don't work on SL. However I downloaded an RTL 8187 driver and the wireless now works.

So I have everything working except for the booting!!! I did an install from scratch , repartitioned the hard disk again. Now when I try to boot without your disk it says no bootable device found!!! I have partitioned it as GUID. When I partition it as MBR it will not allow me to install the Snow Leopard.

This is the final thing....any more ideas ?

By the way I have documented everything that I have done, so once i get the booting resolved then I can give you a guide.

I have created 3 partitions - Mac OSX ( Mac journaled) windows (FAT) and free space for Linux.Would loading Windows and then using Easy BCD help?